Always my choice.
Tears gather in the corners of my eyes, and I bite my bottom lip as I try to blink them away.
Sin takes a sharp breath, and his hand twitches, like the effort of not reaching for me physically hurts him.
Not wanting to make him wait a moment longer, I reach for him. The moment I do, Sin sweeps me into his arms. The scent of woodsmoke washes over me, and all the tension leaves my body as he pulls me flush against him.
A faint tremor rolls through him, even as he begins to spin us around the room.
We’re close – far too close for this to be anything other than an intimate reunion. Yet even now, this feels like too much distance. My fingers curl around the back of his neck, and I almost melt when his hold on my waist tightens. It finally feels like I can breathe again.
Gods, I’ve missed him.
I’m almost afraid to blink in case he disappears.
“I have missed you so fucking much,” he whispers, his voice wavering. There’s a yearning in it, so raw and vulnerable, that it feels as though someone is twisting a knife into my gut.
I swallow, feeling like there’s a rock stuck in my throat, even as I nod in agreement.
I did this to him.
Does he know the bond is broken?
Did he feel it?
Wordlessly, I try to tell him how desperately sorry I am for everything. He deserves so much better than this, so much better than me.
Sin is gentle as he pulls me even closer, until there isn’t any space left between us. Our bodies are melded together, and the contact lights up every one of my nerve endings.
His lips brush the shell of my ear, “You are insomuch trouble, kitten.” His whisper is deliciously low, and he utters the words like a dark promise.
Heat pulses through my core, and I’m suddenly hyperaware of every place our bodies brush against each other.
Sin meets my questioning gaze with a smirk as he dips me low, his gaze raking over my body. Hunger flashes in his eyes, but he shutters it away in an instant, pulling me back into his arms to continue spinning us about the floor. “You shut me out. I stoppedfeelingyou. Never do that again. Please.”
There’s no mistaking the hurt and frustration in his gaze, but his hands never tighten around me any further.
Always comforting, never trapped.
I start to nod, until the implication behind his words hits me – he thinks I can shut him out again.
Oh shit.
He doesn’t know that Ican’tlet him back in.
He doesn’t know the bond is broken.
I open my mouth, and no sound comes out. The pain I’ve been trying to shove down claws its way back into my chest. Shame bubbles up to the surface with it, and I try to lean my head against his shoulder rather than facing him.
“Hey, it’s going to be okay.” Sin releases my hand and gently tilts my chin up, not letting me hide from him. “We’re going to fix it.”
He says it with complete certainty, like there isn’t a force that could ever come between us.
Butterflies flutter against the burnt edges of my soul as I let myself hope, just for a second, that there’s a possibility we can be whole again.
But the feeling of lightness is short-lived when, from the corner of my vision, I catch sight of Leon and Need.
They’re standing together at the bottom of the stairs. Leon glares at us with open hostility, whereas Need does a better job of masking her rage. Her eyes are only slightly narrowed, and she looks like she’s calculating her next forty moves.
